You Have No Control
by TheyAlwaysUseADagger
Summary: The Dupain-Cheng bakery burned down, and with it so did Ladybug's resolve to be a hero. If the people of Paris wanted them to be monsters, than so be it. Now akumas are forgotten as the team battles each other. Full Miraculous team minus Butterfly, but not all canon Miraculous wielders. Love square, DJWifi, some NathanxMari and NathanxChloe. Chloe kind-of redeemed? T for violence.
1. The World Seemed to Burn

**Chapter One - The World Seemed to Burn**

 **Heyyyy folks, it's Dagger back with another fanfiction for you guys. Now I know I shouldn't be posting another one, but I've really been wanting to write this one while it's still fresh inspiration-wise and while it's still hopefully unique. I'm super hyped to write this, especially because I'm aiming for it to be shorter than my typical stories, but we'll have to see. :p**

 **Anyways, if you've read any of my other stuff (one-shot or otherwise), this will be my typical fashion of first-person perspective. I figure I'll continue to throw my warning for that out there since it's not the most popular writing style! c; Anyways, let's get on with this story!**

* * *

 _Adrien's Point of View_

* * *

Even as we touch down in front of the building, I can tell that we are going to have arrived too late to do anything.

Ladybug's confident, controlled demeanor is shattered as she tries to push through the whole host of people before us and reach the building burning to the ground before us. "Let me through. Let me through!" The desperation in her voice is unlike any I've ever heard before.

I grab her hand, pulling her backwards towards me so that she won't just go blindly running into the fire. "Ladybug, we can't help them. It's too late."

"No!" She's practically howling, although I'm not sure whether it's in grief or fury. "We have to go in. We have to help. There are people inside!"

"We don't know that." I argue, somewhat terrified to see the girl I love break before my eyes.

"We have to help!" She cries out, trying to thrash out of my grip and rush towards the building again.

To stop her, I pull her back towards me and this time wrap my arms around her to keep her in place. For a moment, she tries to struggle out of my grip. Then she releases a choked sob as she unexpectedly presses her head into my chest. I hold her tighter at this in an attempt to be comforting, but also as if that will somehow keep her from completely shattering. I've never seen her in such a state. Why has this impacted her so badly?

I move one head to stroke her hair, not sure if that's soothing or not but having seen enough people do it to hope that it is. "Bugaboo, it's going to be okay. I promise it'll be okay." Spotting Officer Raincomprix, I give my lady a gentle squeeze before releasing her, almost worried that she'll run away the moment my arms let go. "Stay right here, alright, LB? I'm going to ask if they know why the bakery caught fire. Maybe they'll have news. Things could be better than we think."

Ladybug nods her her head, but her eyes have a glassy and distant look them, suggesting that she's not really listening or even here anymore. Worried, I continue to glance back at her and make sure she stays rooted to that spot as I make my way over to Sabrina's father. Thankfully, she doesn't try to go rushing into the burning bakery again, instead just staring past all the news reporters, spectators, and emergency units into the flames as tears stream down her cheeks. The sight is like a stab wound to the heart, and I'm not sure if seeing her like that is better or worse than seeing her screaming out and desperate. Finally, I reach Officer Raincomprix, and glance back one more time to check on Ladybug before focusing my attention on him.

He's standing at the edge of the security tape that has been crudely erected to keep civilians out of harm's way, and so I tap his shoulder and get a startled look in response. "Chat Noir! What are you doing here?"

Slightly caught off guard by the question, I give my gut-reaction answer. "The Miraculous Team doesn't just handle akumas. You know that; we've handled robberies and the like before." When I get a nod, which I think is the closest I'll get to an apology from the policeman, I tack on, "Ladybug and I were on patrol when we caught sight of this mess unfolding. Do you guys have any clue as to what happened?" Even as I hope and pray that the fire was merely accidental, I have a feeling that this place wouldn't be crawling with police officers if it was.

"It appears that this was a movement by the AMU." This time his words catch me completely off guard, leaving me feeling like I just got socked in the stomach.

"The AMU?" I ask, hoping that I misheard. "As in the Anti Miraculous Users?"

"The very same." He nods, obviously not pleased to be the one to give me the news.

I'm dumbfounded as to what that two month old group would achieve with this fire, especially since they've been quite passive. "Lighting a fire doesn't seem to have anything to do with saying we should turn our Miraculous over to Hawkmoth to stop the akuma attacks if we really care about Paris and its people."

"You would think so." Officer Raincomprix looks conflicted, as if he isn't sure if he should say more, but before I can do any prodding to make him he decides to spill on his own. "The whole group is very anonymous. No one has blatantly admitted that they support their ideals, in fact most people don't and adore you all, but there are always some haters. Besides, even if people agree with what the AMU wants, they aren't necessarily in the group. For the most part they've been very civil, posting online about their thoughts and sending emails to people in charge about it among other things. Again, it's all very anonymous, and we didn't even think we had to track those sort of things to find out who it was. Not that we've had much luck the few times we've tried, as the whole group is incredibly careful with their business."

Again, he hesitates, and this time I decided to prompt him. "What evidence do you guys have that it was them that lit this? How do we know it wasn't an accident?"

He answers, and I'm relieved that I'm getting so many answers in this mess. "There was a man still here when we all arrived, just standing here and watching the building burn down. Flat out admitted to lighting the fire when we questioned him about it. We're pulling him for further interrogation of course, but he refused to say if he was acting alone or not, just that this was the 'first of many AMU demonstrations.'" Sabrina's father sighs. "Of course we can't prove that he was actually a part of the group or just following its ideals, and we certainly can't prove whether or not it was an organized AMU move. But it still makes us wary."

There's one thing that doesn't make sense in all of this. "Why the Dupain-Cheng bakery, of all places?"

Officer Raincomprix scratches the back of his neck. "We haven't gotten confirmation on the subject yet, but we have a working theory that we think the man we took into custody will confirm. Tom and Sabine's daughter, Marinette Dupain-Cheng?" I nod, even though it was a rhetorical question. "She seemed to have contact and friendship with you and Ladybug, and we think that the AMU targeted her to make a statement towards anyone else who might be in that position. Could you confirm whether Marinette was in contact with you both?"

"I know that we had talked a few times, after she helped in stopping Evillustrator." I say, horror filling me as I begin to realize the implications of Officer Raincomprix theory. Could Ladybug and I have have brought this on the Dupain-Cheng. "And in that case, Ladybug said Marinette was her friend. She's seemed to have been in contact with her a few other times as well. But surely..." I trail off at Officer Raincomprix expression, and decide to jump tracks. "Do you have any theory on where they'd target next?"

"The author of the Ladyblog. Her name is Alya. Heard of her?" Sabrina's father asks, and before I can respond, he says, "Another rhetorical question. I know you and Ladybug both do, seeing as you both have done interviews for her and saved her during Pharaoh. Anyways, someone is now stationed at her house, and there will be a rotation of people doing that."

"And as for the bakery," I say, glancing at the fire that doesn't seem to be at all under control, despite the firefighters swarming it, "Have they found anyone inside?"

He shakes his head and folds his arm. "We found Tom and Sabine, but it's not good news, Chat Noir."

My heart stops in my chest. "Dead?"

"I'm afraid so." The poor officer looks devastated to be the one giving me the news.

"And Marinette? Have they found here? Is she alive?" Suddenly I'm desperate to know what has happened to my classmate, the sweet girl who doesn't deserve this sort of devastation in her life.

"There's been no sign of her in the house, although we're not sure if we missed her. So far, we have high hopes that she's not in the house and alive." As the news reaches my ears, I release the breath I didn't realize I was holding.

I take a deep breath. "Thank you, Officer Raincomprix."

He nods. "Of course, Chat Noir. Thank you for everything you do. We'll handle this, so you and Ladybug are free to go."

I nod, beginning to head back. However, as my gaze flits over the area, I realize a horrifying fact. Ladybug is gone. Wide-eyed, I glance around, afraid to find out where she has gone. There's no sign of her near the fire. Someone would've stopped her if she rushed towards it, right? So she can't have made it in there. As I glance around, my eyes land on a blur of red ducking into a nearby alley. That has to be her.

Determinedly I shove through the crowd, racing towards where the blur ducked in. It takes longer than I want. Everyone seems to be holding me back, hindering me from helping my lady and making sure she doesn't do something foolish. Finally I escape, making it past the last bystander. From there I rush to the alley I saw Ladybug duck into, about to turn the corner.

However, I hear Ladybug's broken voice hitch as she says, "Tikki, spots off," and I can't stop in time as I go barreling around the corner and come face to face with an unmasked Ladybug.

The sight before my eyes makes the entire situation ten times more devastating for so many reasons. The girl that turns to meet my gaze looks even more broken now without her red suit, and her tiny kwami dives into her bag, as if that will somehow do us any good now that Ladybug has been exposed. I can only stare though, trying to comprehend how I missed it. How did I not realize that Ladybug was right in front of me the entire time? The pieces seem to fly together in my head as the two girls I've known mesh together in my head. No wonder I've never seen Ladybug and Marinette at the same time. That secret mission Ladybug had with Evillustrator? It was helping me as her civilian self. Heck, they even have the same hair style. How did I not see it sooner? How blind am I?

I stand there in shock, waiting to see if Marinette will reprimand me for following her and having her accidentally reveal herself to me, but instead she just attempts to barrel past me. "I have to go back. I have to find them. They're in there!"

And as I grab her to hold her back again, suddenly her desperation to claw her way into that burning building makes so much more sense. "Mari, they're gone."

"No!" She howls, thrashing about like a rabid animal. "They're not gone. They're inside! I have to get to them. I have to help them!"

"They're dead. Officer Raincomprix confirmed it. They already found their bodies." I wish I didn't have to be the one to tell her, but I have to do it if it means stopping her from rushing back in.

"No, they can't be dead." And then the poor girl melts in my arms into a sobbing mess. "They can't be dead. It's not possible!"

I squeeze her close, devastated that these are the circumstances that led to me finding out Ladybug's identity. "I'm so sorry, Mari."

Slowly, Marinette pulls herself from my arms, eyes darker than I've ever seen them before as concern mounts up within me. "Who did this?"

I reach out to quell her fury that seems to just be flaring brighter and brighter, but she jerks away from me before I can touch her. "LB, please, if you'd just listen to me-"

"Who did this?" Mari's voice shakes as she snaps at me, hands balled up into fists as her angry gaze meets mine, eyes still leaking tears. "You talked to Officer Raincomprix. I know he must have told you who did it, because it can't have been an accident. So tell me! I deserve to know!"

For a moment, I consider lying, but I can't do that to my lady, not when I consider how enraged I felt about my mother and how much angrier I'd be if someone had caused it and no one told me who did it. "It appears that the AMU was behind it, or at least someone who supported their ideals."

If it's even possible, Mari's gaze darkens further. "Because Marinette Dupain-Cheng seemed to have contact with both Chat Noir and Ladybug. A perfect lesson to teach people." She wraps her arms around herself, staring down at the ground as the tears seem to come down harder once more. "They think that we're monsters and are ready to make us pay. Why do they think that we're monsters?"

It's terrifying to see her in this state, and to see how easily she deduces what Officer Raincomprix told me. "I don't know why, but they're wrong."

Her gaze meets mine again, and there's something there that I can't deduce, but certainly do not like. "How many more innocent people are going to be hurt, are going to _lose their lives_ , over this? My parents are dead now!" Perhaps that is why she has not reacted to being revealed to me, and perhaps that's why I haven't been able to be truly shocked at the revelation. It's certainly why I have not been able to be overjoyed that two of the most important girls in my life are the same.

"Well we can't just give up our Miraculous. What do you want us to do?" I ask, confused by this line of thinking.

"I don't know," The bluenette snaps, tugging at her pigtails in frustration, "But I want them to pay!"

I cringe at the words, so unexpected from my fashion designer friend. "I understand why you want revenge, but it's not healthy. It'll consume you, Marinette. I don't want to see that happen." And I certainly don't want to see her akumatized. "I know it's hard, Marinette, but I swear it'll be alright. You can make it through."

"You don't know that!" She's so angry, and I don't know how to help her. How do I help the girl that seems broken beyond repair? What is going to happen her now that her parents are dead? "How can you say that when you have no idea what I'm going through?"

"But I do know. I've lost a parent before too." A plan starts to develop in my mind, but I'm not sure if it will actually help.

"You didn't lose both!" Marinette argues, and I'm not sure why she's trying to isolate herself like this.

"I basically did." I say, trying to keep my patience under check. "My father stopped caring about me the moment my mother died. He isolated himself away."

"But he's _alive_." There's a bitterness in Marinette's voice that's both startling and depressing, especially due to how peppy and perky she normally is. This moment has destroyed her, and I can't say I blame her. "Besides, how do I even know you're telling the truth? You could be making this up to try and make me feel better!"

I take a deep breath. "You know I'm telling the truth because you already know all of this about me." She makes eye contact again, obviously about to argue with me again, but I cut her off. "Plagg, claws in."

Just waiting for the transformation to drop completely is one of the most agonizing moments of my life. Plagg spins out in front of my face, takes one look at the situation, and dives into my coat pocket. So much for getting help from him, not that I was expecting any.

After a few moments of Marinette staring back at me, tears seeming to have almost stopped trailing down her cheeks from shock, I decide to finally break the silence, unable to take it anymore. "Tada?" I'm not really sure what else to say.

"You're Adrien Agreste." She says quietly, almost as if she's afraid to voice the words. "Chat Noir is Adrien Agreste."

"Yes..." I trail off, nervous, "Is that a bad thing?"

"I just..." She looks so startled, and I have to wonder if I broke her even more by doing this, "You're the same person." I nod, still scared, and then she finally squeaks, "I have to go. I'm so sorry, I have to go!"

Then she runs away before I can grab her. Terrified, I begin to rush after her, but she doesn't go stumbling back towards the fire. Instead she goes rushing clear in the opposite direction, and I'm left in the dust, terrified to find out what is going to happen.

Even once I've returned home and tried to sleep, my mind stays focused on the events that have occurred. There is no school on Sunday, so there is nothing for me to do as I sit in my room expect to dwell on what happened. I skip breakfast and lunch out of worry, and no amount of pestering from Plagg can get me out. Finally spotting the time, I manage to pull myself together, finally acknowledging that I've really just walked in circles in my thoughts on Marinette and Ladybug, still unable to be excited about the revelation due to our circumstances.

"Plagg," I call, causing the black kwami to come bobbing out. He seems to think that this means I'm ready to eat, "It's time for patrol."

"What? Adrien, no you can't go out for patrol like thi-" The greedy cat exclaims, seeming actually concerned for once in his life, but I brush it off.

"Plagg, claws out." It's more tired than I expected, and certainly not excited in any fashion.

Despite the kwami's grumbling, Plagg goes flying into the ring. I suppose he really doesn't have a choice. In a heartbeat the transformation is over, and I go rushing out the window and to our typical patrol spot. I'm slower than I expected, probably due to not eating or sleeping, but I still make it in time. As I approach, I see that for once I'm not the first one there.

Queen Bee is already seated on the chimney, fiddling with her blond ponytail only to leap up when she sees I'm approaching. "Chat Noir, thank goodness someone is _finally_ here. I thought patrol hadn't gotten cancelled or something and I'd just missed the memo, which is a ridiculous thought since how would everyone else be in the loop except for me, but still."

I shake my head. "Nope, you didn't miss a memo, unless I did too."

"Guess us blondes will have to stick it out till we see where everyone else is." She offers me a fist bump, and I accept, deciding that I can't let on to just how out of sorts I am right now as I try to guess whether Ladybug - or should I refer to her as Marinette now? - will make an appearance at all.

Suddenly familiar arguing fills the air as a girl snaps, "Well at least my name isn't stupid."

That comment gets a swift retort from someone else, who sounds less than pleased. "How is Le Paon any cooler than Jade Turtle?"

"Mine sounds far more official." She sounds quite proud of herself, something I'm sure Jade Turtle is boiling at. "You need to get a different route to patrol so that we stop bumping into each other."

"That's not how it works, dude!" Jade grumbles, dropping down onto the roof with his hood up, looking far more fearsome than he actually is.

Le Paon quickly follows him, brushing her reddish brown hair out of her eyes upon her graceful landing. "I say that it is."

"Ladies, ladies, please. You're both pretty." Queen Bee pipes up, and we chuckle as the two heroes' eyes land on us, both of them narrowing into glares in unison.

"Where's Vulpin and Ladybug?" Jade asks, glancing around.

"Ladybug is normally already here by the time I get here." Le Paon comments, frowning. "The fact that she isn't seems odd."

"Isn't it?" Queen Bee asks, all three's gazes turning to look at me.

"I'm sure she'll be here." I say with a shrug, nervous. Why do they expect me to know? "As for Vulpin, well, we never know when he's going to show up."

"Wait, Vulpin?" Queen Bee asks, a frown dawning her face. "I thought he wa-"

A voice echoes from behind us, giving us all a heart attack as the reddish orange wielder comes creeping out of the shadows. "I heard my name?"

Jade pipes up first, hand over his heart. "Geez, dude, do you have to do that all the time?

Le Paon jumps on the opportunity. "Don't go having a heart attack on us just because you're old, Gramps. We don't have a life alert handy, but I'll make sure to bring one next time."

Jade begins to argue with her all over again, all thoughts about the rest of us completely disregarded. "Just because I'm slow does _not_ make me old! I bet you're probably older than me!"

As they continue to argue, Queen Bee says to Vulpin, "Why do you always have to do that? It gives me the creeps."

"No kidding." I mutter, causing the fox hero to just smirk and raise one eyebrow, turquoise eyes brimming with challenge.

"I would've thought you guys would be used to me napping while invisible by my illusions while I wait for you guys to all show up by now." He says with a shrug, and the fact that his expression feels far too close to the smirk Volpina wore while she wreaked havoc on Paris disturbs me to no end.

Before I can say anything towards the fox, still displeased that he ever joined our team, our last team member joins the party. "Sorry I'm late."

* * *

 **And there we have our first chapter! I considered putting more, but I decided to hold off till next chapter on the part where we actually see the team torn apart at the seams. What do you guys think of the story so far though? Was it good? Bad? What are your thoughts on AMU? I know it might seem far-fetched to some, but based on some of the things that people think are a good idea, I don't think it's that far-fetched at all. How do you feel about Tom and Sabine dying? How about the reveals? I know there wasn't too much reacting to those, but based on the circumstances I thought it was realistic to have them not focus or react too much to it, and Marinette running away just made sense in my head. How do you feel about each hero? I'm assuming most people will figure out who everyone is, but feel free to guess who is who in the reviews! It'll be revealed next chapter for anyone who isn't sure. c: Also, how do you think sides will be drawn in this, and what do you think will cause the split? I've been sowing seeds the best I can, and of course it will all be revealed eventually, but I'll be interested to see what you guys think is going to happen. c; :Let me know any thoughts you have in a review!**

 **Thanks for reading if you got this far. :D Hopefully you'll continue to follow this story's progress if you enjoyed it. Anyways, I'll see you guys next time I update a story you read of mine, wherever that might be!**

 **~ Dagger**


	2. Don't Throw Away This Thing We Had

**Chapter Two - Don't Throw Away This Thing We Had  
**

 **Thank you so much for the support you guys have given me so far on this story! It was super exciting to read your reviews, and I'm super hyped to keep writing this story. :D I know my other stories need updated, but I have tried to update them and had the updates deleted on me by Fanfiction (I have no idea why, some glitch keeps hitting me) so I decided to update here since my inspiration to update those was brutally murdered. :c But we're back, and this time diving into the heat of the action!**

* * *

 _Adrien's Point of View_

* * *

"Ladybug!" Queen Bee practically squeals as she rushes over to my lady, throwing her arms around her.

Normally Ladybug rolls with the punches and tolerates Bee, but not today. She just stands there stiffly, and Bee totally notices. The blonde slips off, looking slightly crestfallen. For one, my lady doesn't seem to notice the person in need around her. It's out of character for both of her identities.

But before I can ask what's up, Le Paon pipes up. "Well, LB is here now. Are we good to get on with patrol, or is there anything we need to go over?"

Vulpin smirks from across from her. "Someone is sure eager to spend more time with Jade."

Le Paon and Jade Turtle both begin to argue against the fox, fury evident in their faces, before Ladybug breaks it up by saying, "There's something we have to discuss first."

"M'lady, I-" I begin to say, already guessing what she's going to talk about, but the pleading look she gives me shuts me down.

"I'm sure by now everyone has heard about the fire at the Dupain-Cheng bakery." That successfully sobers everyone. "The owners, Tom and Sabine, died. Their daughter, Marinette, has yet to be found."

I have to do my best not to react to this news, but I'm shocked. Did she retransform into Ladybug and just stay transformed all the way up to this time? There's no way she could pull that off, which would mean she just stayed hidden as a civilian, but that seems even more unlikely. This whole mess is confusing.

After letting the recap of what they know sink in, Ladybug continues. "Obviously the news has yet to say anything on the matter of who did it. Luckily, Chat talked to a police officer who gave us a clue as to what was going on. Unluckily..." She takes a deep breath, composing herself, "We arrived too late to do anything to stop it. Chat, if you wouldn't mind sharing what Officer Raincomprix told you?"

She's put me on the spot so that I can't come up with a lie, and she knows I can't just deflect and not say anything to our team about the issue. But why is she making me say it? "He informed me that, by the looks of things, the AMU is behind the fire. One man, whether he was the only perpetrator or not, was watching the fire burn when they came up. He refused to say anything except that this was the AMU's first demonstration. They weren't sure then whether the man just supported what the AMU was preaching or was an actual part of it, but they've decided to protect who they suspect would be the target of another demonstration just in case."

Bee folds her arms. "And who do they suspect would be next?"

"Alya Cesaire, the owner of the Ladyblog." Jade Turtle and Le Paon blanch at the news, but I can't think of any reason why.

"And do we know why the AMU chose the bakery?" Vulpin says, and even though he looks calm, his stance suggests that it's just a facade.

Ladybug tackles this one before I can. "Because she appeared to have a friendship, or at least seemed to be in contact with, at least Chat and I, if not any of you guys." After letting that sink in for a moment, Ladybug continues, "The AMU think we're monsters."

Jade Turtle shakes his head. "The AMU are idiots. They do realize everything would be much worse if Hawkmoth had any more Miraculous, especially yours and Chat's, right?"

Le Paon scoffs at the question. "Obviously they don't, otherwise they wouldn't exist."

Bee speaks up once again, asking the question that is also nagging at my mind. "Well, what are we going to do about it? We can't just shut them up."

"Not while being Paris' heroes, we can't." Ladybug turns away, and I'm a split second too late in trying to cut her off. "But if Paris wants monsters, why should we keep being their heroes?"

"Ladybug," I say, trying to choose my words as carefully as possible, "This isn't the way to handle this." I make my way over and carefully set a hand on her shoulder. "Being a hero isn't about having the love of the people. It's about doing the right thing, even if nobody else is."

"Chat," She says as she shakes my hand off and turns to look at me, her voice quiet enough that I can just barely hear her, "I would think you of all people would understand how I'm feeling." Betrayal seeps through her words, and I cringe. How can she feel like I'm betraying her right now? I'm trying to help. Ladybug speaks up louder, stepping away from me and facing the group. "I'm done being a hero for Paris when they don't want me."

Le Paon's eyes widen. "Not everyone feels the same way as the AMU though, LB."

Vulpin pipes up, frowning. "Does it matter? Enough do, otherwise the AMU wouldn't exist. There's no way that fire at the Dupain-Cheng bakery was caused by one man if Tom and Sabine died."

"So you're handing in your Miraculous, Ladybug?" Queen Bee asks, looking distressed by the mere suggestion. She has always seemed quite fond of the spotted heroine, so I guess it would make sense for this to be upsetting.

"No." Ladybug shakes her head. "But I'm going to make Paris wish I had."

"M'lady," I say slowly, "I can't let you do that."

"Are you saying you're against me, Chat?" She turns to look at me, and the fire from her eyes last night is back and burning brighter than ever.

Jade Turtle shakes his head. "No, LB, he's right. This is crazy talk, dude. I don't know if you somehow feel responsible for the deaths or what, but you can't. Just give it some time and you'll heal and be fine. Besides, we're heroes. Toughing it out through hard times is part of the job description."

Le Paon sighs, "I hate to say it, but for once I agree with the turtle. Trust me, we're just upset as you are," Ladybug stiffens, but Le Paon doesn't seem to notice. I have a feeling my lady is thinking that Le Paon has no _idea_ how upset she is, and I guess she would be correct in that idea, "But this isn't how to handle it."

Vulpin and Queen Bee shift in their spots, seeming to avoid my gaze and not choosing to speak up.

Ladybug looks back at me. "It doesn't have to be this way, Chat."

"You're the one making it this way." I shoot back, and Ladybug just shakes her head. "If you're going to try and go rogue, then I'm going to have to demand that you give up your Miraculous."

"What makes you think you can just demand my Miraculous and have me hand them over?" She shoots back, so unlike either side of her, and her hand reaches up to brush her earrings, almost as if to check that they're still there.

Jade Turtle steps up. "Because he's not doing it by himself. The team won't let you do this. We want to help you, but not like this."

Le Paon follows him, forming a sort of circle around the girl who we normally follow as our leader. "Ladybug, if you'll just calm down-"

"You're the ones making this a fight." She snaps back at the peacock wielder, causing the girl to flinch. Ladybug's attention snaps to Vulpin and Queen Bee, meaning that she isn't paying any attention to me. "What about you two?"

Queen Bee shifts uncomfortably before us, however Vulpin holds her gaze. There are no words exchanged, but it seems like there doesn't need to be. I've never completely understood how Ladybug and Vulpin's relationship works. It has certainly made me feel slightly threatened, although I don't care to admit it. At least with Queen Bee I know that she can read minds and communicate telepathically, but I have never understood how Vulpin seems to be able to know things from a simple facial expression.

Seeing my opportunity, I decide to seize it, no matter how much it hurts me to do so. I launch myself at my distracted bluenette love and friend, fully expecting to tackle her to the ground. Instead, she whips around and throws her yoyo to directly into my chest, knocking me backwards into a smoke stack. I suppose I'm lucky it was there, or else I could have gone flying off the roof.

"I don't want to hurt you, Chat." Ladybug says, pulling her yoyo back in and casting a glance at our team members, as if daring them to try what I just attempted. "But I will if you make me."

"I don't want to hurt you either, LB. But I can't just stand by and let you do what you're wanting to do." Le Paon and Jade Turtle's gazes focus in on me, and I give them the subtlest of nods.

They both prepare to strike, only for at least a dozen more Ladybugs to spring up before our eyes. They blanch, and I can feel my eyes widen as all of our gazes move for just a second to focus in on Vulpin.

He gives us an apologetic look. "I'm supporting Ladybug on this one."

"His illusions break if you touch them." Le Paon pipes up, springing us all to life. "It'll be easy enough to find the real Ladybug."

"You focus on Vulpin then." I snap, and then jerk my head at Jade. "Jade, keep an eye on Bee while you clear the illusions. Make sure she doesn't try anything. I'll focus on Ladybug."

Le Paon thrusts her fan forward, throwing it like a boomerang as it arcs through several of the illusions before returning. However, before I can take any advantage to it, Vulpin causes more to crop up in their place. Obviously angry, the peacock launches herself at the fox while Jade and I begin to try and wade through the Ladybugs.

"He's gone!" Le Paon suddenly exclaims, and my gaze snaps to confirm that she's correct.

The fox has disappeared and Bee is also nowhere in sight. Does that mean Ladybug is potentially gone? Jade begins to whack Ladybugs with hist fist, each disappearing upon impact, and I do the same with my baton. Seeming annoyed with the time process, Le Paon uses her fan as a boomerang once more, and all the Ladybugs disappear.

Jade shifts, staring at the emptiness that is now in front of us. "So they're gone?"

I nod, folding my arms and attempting to shove the emotions wishing to well up inside me down. "Apparently."

We stand there for a few moments in that awkward silence before Le Paon takes initiative and asks, "Well, what do we do now?"

"We prepare to protect Paris from two threats instead of just one." It hurts to even say it, but we have to. For a moment, I wonder if I should say anything about Marinette being Ladybug, but then I decide against it. Even with this war, telling them that feels wrong. I refuse to sink that low. It's too dangerous anyways. However, there is something I want to do. "And I'm going to entrust you with my biggest secret to make things easier for you guys in case you need to contact me." Before they can even fully realize what I mean, I say the fateful words that I know will change my life even further. "Plagg, claws in."

The bright green light flashes before me and then I'm standing before them without all the glory of Chat Noir. Without the protection he provides.

Plagg takes one look at the situation and then mumbles, "You can handle this one," before diving into my jacket.

"You're Adrien?" Jade gasps, actually looking slightly hurt.

"Dusuu, fan in." Le Paon announces, casting a smirk at Jade before detransforming, leaving me wide eyed.

"Alya?" I gasp as the bright blue ball that I can only assume is her kwami ducks into her pocket.

I'm really not sure what to make of this situation.

The Ladyblogger shrugs, not even giving me a chance to ask how the heck she runs that and handles being a super, looking over at Jade. "You gonna join the fun, or are you too scared to come out of your shell?"

Poor Jade looks shell-shocked, pun completely intended. "Oh gosh, I'm ruined."

Alya and I exchange a look before I look at Jade, quirking an eyebrow. "What the heck does that mean, Jade?"

He doesn't answer, instead just saying the simple words, "Wayzz, in the shell." After the transformation drops and a green kwami sits on his shoulder, none other than Nino Lahiffe stands in front of us, looking incredibly nervous. "Ta-da?"

Alya nearly shrieks, covering her mouth and giving a muffled shout of, "I've been hating my boyfriend this entire time!"

Despite the serious of this situation, I break out in laughter at the hilarity of the situation. Two of the people on my team are my classmates, classmates who happen to be two of my best buds. How lucky can I get? Not to mention the fact that they're dating in one form and quite content to constantly bicker and pick on each other in the other makes this whole thing even better. My eyes are actually watering from how hard I laugh, and soon Alya and Nino join me. As all of us lose it, each of our kwamis venturing out of their hiding spot - except for Wayzz, who never hid - to talk to each other, probably discussing how crazy we each our during as serious of a time as this.

Or Plagg will be complaining to them about needing camembert. That thought brings around fresh laughter, and for now, any thoughts of the other half of our team are blown from my mind.

* * *

 _Marinette's Point of View_

* * *

Only once we're as far as possible from the roof does Queenie set us down, and it's then that Vulpin drops the illusion of us being invisible. That's one ability I am quite thankful for, although it did make the flight somewhat uncomfortable as I worried about letting go of Queen Bee or dropping Vulpin. Once we've touched down, I stumble off a bit, leaning against a chimney and letting what just happened fully wash over me.

I just lost half my team, including the partner I thought I could trust my life on.

Turning around, I look at the only two who actually care and offer them the only gratitude I can muster. "Thank you so much for siding with me."

Vulpin shrugs, while Queenie says, "Hey, we're with you, Ladybug. We've got your back."

I'll admit, I'd be much more comfortable if Chat - no, Adrien - had actually understood what I was going through instead of just claiming that he did. I used to trust my life on him, and I meant what I said before when I said I didn't want to hurt him. But if he wants to stand in the way of me giving Paris what it wants, then he's made himself my enemy. This is his doing, not mine. I can't think of him as a partner any longer. As for Le Paon and Jade Turtle, while it would be nice for the extra support, their powers aren't the most useful, especially with their constant bickering.

A bee with mind powers and a fox with illusions and general trickery seem like they'll be much better for doing the job we need to do.

"Well, since we're going all in now, I guess you deserve to know my identity." I say slowly. "That way we can meet a bit more under cover. Activating our Miraculous will make us a prime target for Chat Noir," It takes all of my energy to force myself not to sue his nickname, as much as I want to, because I need to unattach myself, "and his team, at least if I do. While it'd be useful if you all detransformed, I won't make you do anything. But here we go for me." Taking one last deep breath, I say, "Tikki, spots off."

The red kwami gives me a sad look as I finish the detransformation and then dives into my pocket, obviously not willing to talk to me here about what I've done, and so I move my gaze to take in Queen Bee and Vulpin's expression.

Vulpin actually appears to be kind of blushing, while Queenie's jaw has dropped as she gasps out, "Marinette Dupain-Cheng? You've been my idle this whole time?" She then gasps in horror. "I've been trashing my hero this whole time!"

Before I can ask, she announces, "Pollen, wings down!" followed by Vulpin stating, "Trixx, ears down!"

After two bright flashes of light, Nathaniel Kutzenberg and Chloe Bourgeois stare back at me. Nathaniel looks beet red, and I'm drawn back in my head to the events of Evillustrator. Does he still have a crush on me? It would certainly appear so. And I suppose, at this point, we could capitalize on that point. As for Chloe, I'm not sure what to make of her.

"Ladybug...No, Marinette...I'm so sorry." A sincere apology from Chloe? Now I must be going crazy.

"Um, thanks." I shift awkwardly under their gazes, not sure what else to say. This has certainly distracted me from any potential plans I wanted to discuss with them.

Chloe picks up the ball I've dropped, a smile taking her face. "Now it's time for me to prove that. I have a plan, if you're willing to listen, that will help remaining in contact be easier, at least between the two of us. Nathaniel can, of course, interact without any sort of major suspicion, so his job is easier. Unless, of course, you already have a plan?"

I shake my head. "Nope, I don't. Go ahead and spill yours."

* * *

 **And I'm gonna end it there. Sorry if this chapter was awkward and weird! I was having issues writing the reveals, but I promise everything will be much smoother from this point on. We'll be getting a few chapters from Adrien/Chat and Mari/Ladybug, and then we'll be hitting the climax of this story. Like I said, this one is going to be much shorter than my usual story, so the end is near. Anyways, what did you guys think of this chapter? Hopefully it was still good despite the decrease in quality. I swear I'll make up for that next chapter, once everyone is established in their roles. What do you guys think of the teams that were drawn? Were you expecting that, or a different set up? How do you feel about the revealing? What do you guys think Ladybug's team will do? Any predictions for the future or things you hope will happen? I love to know your thoughts, so leave a review with anything you'd like to say. c:  
**

 **Speaking of which, thank you so much for the reviews you guys have given me! I'm super happy to know that people like this story. :3 Here are my responses, as usual!**

 **Lokilust : I won't speak on any real group, but I will say that yes, the AMU is supposed to not be acting to properly fix this and is all around rather stupid.**

 **LostDemonessRaven : Thank you so much! Hopefully this chapter didn't disappoint. c: I'm super excited to write the two groups at war, as well as the interactions between Marinette and Adrien, since they both are rather exposed to each other.**

 **Unfound name : Thank you! I definitely like the idiotic AMU concept, and I'm glad you think it makes sense. c: And yep, you are correct on the team, as we've seen! And yes, that would've made sense to do as well, but I think Ladybug could be the style to try and just convince everyone with it. As you've probably seen at this point, they have appeared to fully separate, so we'll just have to see if they come together in the end or not. And I'm glad it was good! I hope this chapter was still worth the wait, and that you'll enjoy the rest. c:**

 **Before I sign off, let me just spell out the sides for anyone who was lost at all:**

 **Staying as the heroes of Paris - Chat Noir (Adrien), Le Paon (Alya), and Jade Turtle (Nino)**

 **Giving Paris the monsters they want - Ladybug (Marinette), Queen Bee (Chloe), and Vulpin (Nathaniel)**

 **Anyways, I'll see you guys next time I update! Once again, thanks for the support. cx**

 **~ Dagger**


	3. Talk Less, Smile More

**Chapter Three - Talk Less, Smile More**

 **Woo! Dagger is back in business, my friends! cx Homework has been a bit of an issue, so that's stopped me from updating sooner, but I'm taking advantage of the fact that I actually got stuff done ahead of time and using the time I would've had to use to do that to do some updates! I just updated the rewrite for Strings, Knots, and Laces - _finally_ , that one has needed one for a long while now - and after this Most Dangerous Game is up to bat. (Then of course we have Balancing Act, but that one is last because those updates take forever to pound out.) So sorry that I had to take so long to get this to you guys! Thankfully, we're past the awkward stages now and we're moving into the more _fun_ stages of the story. Also, we're getting even closer to the end! As I've said before, this one is going to be shorter than my normal goals for these stories, simply because it's meant to be a shorter project. I may not stick to that, but we'll just have to see.**

 **I actually lost the entire ending to this chapter right when I was writing the ending author note's section that I always do when I was going to save it, so that's frustrating as _heck_. It killed me a little inside, but hopefully this time will be just as good. I'm still super sad though. ;-; Fanfiction should really look into getting the autosave feature or something like that. :c**

 **On a more fun note, every chapter title (and even the title of the story) are references to something. Points to you if you recognize them! You should let me know in a review if you do. :p**

 **Anyways, here's our nice chapter three! And look, it's not even an Adrien perspective from the start this time! :o**

* * *

 _Marinette's Point of View_

* * *

"Marinette? You awake?" I look up at the door and away from the empty paper that I was trying - and failing - to sketch designs on while ignoring Tikki. "We have to go to school, and I'm not willing to be late, even if it's for you. I have a reputation to uphold, you know."

"I'm awake." I answer, deciding to keep the fact that I've been awake all night to myself. In fact, I've been up for a few nights straight at this point, seeing as I haven't slept since the fire. Now it's Monday morning, and I'm wondering how tired I'll feel once my anger stops supplying me with the energy I need. "And before you ask, I'm already ready for school. You can come in if you want."

The door swings open, and in steps Chloe in her full Chloe glory. While from one glance in the mirror I can tell that I look like a complete disaster, which I feel I have every right to look like, Chloe looks like her normal self. I suppose that is part of the point of this. We have to try and maintain a sense of normal, even if our attitudes towards each other have shifted drastically. Still, I suppose a part of me is still trying to get used to the idea that Chloe suddenly has no problem with me, and was also my trusted teammate for part of the time that she was hating on me. How the tables have turned.

The thought causes a pang of sadness to jolt through me as thoughts of Adrien pop back up in my mind. I try to ignore them, to beat them away like there's no tomorrow, but I can't help but keep thinking about it. Adrien Agreste, the boy who I've been head over heels for since what feels like forever, is the same person as Chat Noir, the boy whose been my partner since day one of this crazy job as a Miraculous wielder and who I should be able to entrust with my life. I should be over the moon about this, especially seeing as Chat Noir has had a major crush on me, as Ladybug. My crush likes me back, and yet, that's completely decimated by the fact that even though he knows how I'm feeling, he refuses to help me. He and Chloe are the closest ones to have experienced what I'm experiencing - I don't know if Le Paon or Jade Turtle have had similar experiences, but now they're the enemy, so it doesn't really matter - and he didn't back me up. Instead my partner tried to get me to hand in my earrings. The love of my life basically stabbed my heart, and now I need to ignore my feelings in order to accomplish my goal.

What even is our goal? I'm not totally sure at this point. I want revenge on the AMU. They called us monsters, and so I'm going to teach them what monsters really are. I want to hunt them down. If I'm being honest, at this moment I'd like to kill the man that was still at my parent's bakery when it burned down.

However, that all is for when I'm Ladybug. Right now, I'm just Marinette Dupain-Cheng, the poor girl who lost her parents in a fire that she was lucky to have not also been caught in, although lucky is a relative term. Right now, I have to make sure those two identities don't mingle. I don't know if Adrien will have given my identity away to his partners. I haven't given his away because it feels wrong to even dare to think of doing so, even if it would make more sense to tell them. My main goal will just have to be avoiding the blonde model at all costs, and to stick to the current plan. Chloe has convinced her father to take me in as my new legal guardian as an act of good will and to take a stand against the AMU, meaning I'm staying a few rooms over from her in the hotel now. It's certainly a new experience, but she seems to have had no problem taking a whole one eighty turn on her attitude towards me. That might be one of the weirdest parts of it all, but then again, I'm not sure the full effect of the fire has really hit me yet, but it will eventually, once I let myself stop focusing on handling the AMU.

That won't happen till they've paid.

"You look awful." Chloe doesn't even try to blunt her words as she stares at me, ignoring Pollen as she flies over to speak with Tikki in hushed voices.

"Great observation, Chloe." I say sarcastically, slowly getting to my feet. "Real keen eye you've got there."

She rolls her eyes, not seeming to mind the sarcasm. "We've got time to fix this, and so we will. It doesn't even look like you've got any sleep, Nette." I shrug in response, and she huffs. "Come on, you can't let this defeat you, or you're letting the AMU wins." She seems to know exactly how to egg me to action, because that puts some more energy into my movements as I make my way over to her. "At least let me fix your hair, if you won't let me do makeup."

"Fine." I say after a long pause, not really sure that I care at this point.

"Great!" She cheers, grabbing my hand. "Pollen and Tikki, we'll be back." Before I can say anything else, she tugs me out of my not-very-personalized room and shuts the door. It only takes a few steps to reach hers, and then she tugs me inside and shuts that door as well before ushering me into the chair in front of her vanity. "Stay right here, I just have to gather a few supplies." She returns quickly with what seems like a boatload of items, looking quite pleased with herself. "Don't worry, this shouldn't take long at all. I'm an expert."

And she's actually correct. Besides a few minor incidents where she has to correct me on what I'm doing to make her job easier, it goes by relatively smoothly, and the end result is that I actually don't look like a complete disaster. She didn't even use that much make up - not that I could identify any of if if I tried - to hide the marks of sleep deprivation, and somehow she got my tangled mess of hair to look nice. Even more shocking, she's managed to make it look nice and it's not even in it's pigtails. She's left it down, and for once in my life, I'm actually okay with it.

However, Chloe just frowns, obviously not satisfied. "We're proving to the world that they can't smack you down. You need to wear something new, at least for this first day."

I tilt my head ever so slightly, a bit confused. "And what do you have in mind, Bee?"

She grins. "Give me another five seconds." Off she darts again, and when she returns, she thrusts a dark pink, sleeved skater dress accompanied with black flats and a matching pink beret into my lap. "There you go. Go change in your room as quickly as possible, and then we'll go. Try not to get any make up on it."

"Will do." I answer, glancing at the outfit she's chosen. It'll certainly be different, but I'm not sure how well I'll be able to pull it off. "Any other things I should be keeping in mind?"

"Hurry up. We have to get to school, or Nathaniel will think we've trashed the whole plan." She grins at me, and I roll my eyes again before offering her a small smile, which seems to satisfy her. "There you go. Now go get dressed in your room. I'm giving you five minutes before I barge in and drag you to school, no matter what state you are in clothing wise."

That's enough of a motivation to get me moving quickly to my room. Tikki and Pollen are still whispering to each other, although they stop when I enter before dropping their voices to be even quieter. I ignore them, taking off the clothes I'm currently wearing to put on Chloe's outfit. It doesn't take long, and once I'm finished, I take a moment to look in the mirror. I don't think I've messed anything Chloe did up, and I actually think I look rather good. The new outfit alone offers a boost in confidence. I can do this. It's time to show Adrien that I'm ready to take him on any time.

"Ready to go, Tikki?" I ask, turning to the two kwamis in the corner as I pick up my bag. I try my best to ignore the fact that this is the first time I've spoken to Tikki since I detransformed last night. "You can tag along in my bag till we reach Chloe if you want, Pollen."

"Okay, Marinette." Pollen responds, grabbing Tikki and pulling her into the bag along side her.

Taking a deep breath, I shut it and step out into the hallway. There's Chloe, poised to perfection and ready to roll. I pop the bag open after checking to see the hallway is clear and Pollen zips out to dive into Chloe's white bag that she opens, and I shut mine again, trying to ignore Tikki's piercing gaze. She just doesn't understand, but she will. I know she will.

"Let's get going." Chloe announces, grabbing me by the arm and jerking me into the elevator after her. Normally I'd complain about such behavior, but now I don't know if I'd make it to school without it. "Obviously we can't be too friendly too soon in school. I'll lighten up as much as I can without creating suspicion, and I guess you won't have to act much. People will forgive you if you aren't your normal self."

"Right. We went over this with Nathaniel." I say with a nod.

She gives me a thumbs up. "We'll do great, okay? If we don't, my daddy will hear about it." She says the last part with a wink, and manages to get a small chuckle out of me. "Hey, I'll take it."

Although the trip to school in Chloe's limo feels like forever as the blonde chatters away, seeming very insistent on keeping my spirits raised and doing a fairly decent job at it considering the circumstances, it's really only a few minutes. Once we arrive, she gives me one last thumbs up before grabbing her phone and hopping out, filling her own role in by not even bothering to turn around to check on me as she basically rushes over to Sabrina, who's waiting on the stairs. I go a bit more slowly, stepping out and taking a deep breath before I face the school before me. Nathaniel is walking in with Juleka and Rose, and we briefly make eye contact as he offers me a small smile before ducking his head away and heading inside. There's no sign of Alya or Nino anywhere, and thankfully no sign of Adrien, so I take that as my cue to head inside.

I weave through the hallways, ignoring the stares I get as I finally reach my locker. The area around here is relatively empty, so I take the chance to enjoy the silence that I'm sure I won't be receiving once class begins to just prepare myself. It's hard enough trying to think with the sudden overload of the sense, let alone remember what books and such to grab. Thankfully, I manage to sort it out, and shut the door.

When I turn around, I'm face to face with the green-eyed wonder that I was hoping to avoid. "Fancy meeting you here, Marinette."

I try to look away from his face or even run away from the situation without actually running, but he has his hands planted on the lockers on either side of me, successfully blocking me in. Besides, if I run away, I'll look like a coward. Instead, I take yet another deep breath and offer a rather flat, "Adrien," in response.

"You look cute today." He gives me his killer model smile and a wink, and a part of me wants to melt right on the spot.

Somewhere in the back of my mind I hear myself screaming, _He's the enemy! Keep your cool!_

"I suppose you don't look too bad yourself." I manage to respond, forcing myself to keep it together as I've instructed myself.

However, as he slowly leans in closer so that our faces are barely an inch apart, my breathing becomes quicker and my face heats up as I try to think of some way out of this. He seems quite pleased, whispering, "Ready to end the stunt you pulled last night and come back?"

I don't mean to stutter in my response, but somehow I slip up anyways as I whisper back, "A-are you ready t-to actually do the-the right thing and support me?"

He sighs, and I can feel his breath on my face, which honestly just makes matters much worse. "Come on, you don't actually want to do this, Princess. I want to help you, but not the way you're aiming to do so." The corners of his lips turn upwards as he adds, "I mean, you look so adorable right now, especially with your face all red from nerves," Which, of course, just makes my cheeks get even hotter from embarrassment, "that I could just kiss you. What do you think?"

I can't even manage to choke out a response, but thankfully I don't have to as someone swoops in to be my savior. "Adrien? What the heck are you doing? Back off."

Adrien leans back and drops his arms as we both look to see turquoise-eyed Nathaniel standing there with his arms folded, and I'm careful not to let the model hear my sigh of relief as he responds with, "We were just talking, Nathaniel. No worries."

"Really? Because what it looked like to me was that you were invading Mari's space and making her incredibly uncomfortable." As Nathaniel speaks, I shuffle away from Adrien and stand beside Nathaniel.

"Like I said, we were just talking. I'd never intend to make Marinette uncomfortable. She's my friend." He says the word rather pointedly, eyes narrowing at Nathaniel.

Nathaniel raises an eyebrow. "Really now? Because she's mine too, and I'm trying to look out for her. She needs support, not people breathing into her face."

Tapping the redhead's shoulder to get his attention, I say with as much courage as I can muster in front of Adrien, "Nath," It's weird using his nickname for the first time out loud, but we agreed that it would solidify the idea of us having been friends on the down low better, "we should just get going to class."

Before I can properly react, he grabs my hand, casting one last narrow-eyed glance at Adrien before saying, "Yes, we should."

And then, without giving Adrien any proper time to react to things, Nathaniel pulls me along towards the classroom. It takes me a few moments to actually get myself into motion, but then I manage to keep in step with him. It takes him a few moments before he realizes what he's doing, and his face flushes red as he drops my hand and looks away, merely walking beside me as we head up the stairs to Miss Caline's room. The walk is in silence, and while it's not necessarily bad, I feel like I'm supposed to fill the silent void with something.

Thankfully, we manage to get inside the room, and Nathaniel heads for his seat in the back while I take my spot beside Alya, whose gaze appears to be locked on me. As I sit down, she instantly jumps on me. "Girl, I've been trying to contact you all night! Where have you been? I've been worried sick!"

I sigh before offering her a shrug. "I don't even know, Alya. The last few days have been a blur."

She tugs me into a hug while in our seats, sounding quite mournful as she says, "I know. I'm so sorry."

"It's fine." I murmur, trying to avoid the feeling of our class' eyes on me as Nino turns around to look at me.

"How are you holding up?" He asks, looking concerned. I offer him a shrug as well, and he frowns. "I'm sorry, Mari. Do you know where you're staying yet?"

Alya actually looks offended. "With me and my family, of course."

I shake my head. "No, actually. I already was given somewhere to stay. The mayor has graciously taken me in to show his good nature and anti-AMU spirit."

"You're going to have to stay with Chloe?" Alya practically shrieked the words, glancing over at the blonde, who is currently examining her nails while saying one thing or another to Sabrina. "No way. I won't let it happen."

"I'll be fine." I respond, reminding myself that no one knows Chloe and I are okay with each other now. "It'll be a pain, but as long as I stay out of her way, I'll be fine."

"Still stinks, dude. Sorry." Nino says, frowning.

Alya, on the other hand, is completely furious. "You just lost everything! They can't make you stay with Chloe! There's no way. I'm going to go to my parents about this. We'll fight for it if that's what it takes to be able to take you in."

Nino grabs her hand, giving her a stern look. "Calm down, Alya. You can sort it out once you talk to your parents, but don't get worked up now."

Miss Bustier taps on the board, so Nino releases her and faces forward while Alya and I grab our stuff from our bags. It's at this moment that Adrien chooses to practically strut into the room like the model he is, making eye contact with me and merely smirking as he moves to his seat and sits down. I duck my eyes as my cheeks flush, determined to pay him no mind as I also avoid the curious look Alya is giving me. After I take a deep breath, I look back up and focus on the board as Miss Bustier begins to talk about fairytales.

However, I can't focus in for long because suddenly a piece of paper comes flying into my face. I blink, confused, only to notice Adrien glancing back with a pleased grin. He gestures to the piece of paper lying on my desk before facing forward again, and I'm left incredibly confused. As I reach to grab it, I notice Alya practically spazzing out about the whole exchange, and again ignore her.

Instead, I unfold the note, and read it.

* * *

 _Princess, I regret not asking earlier. How_ _are you feeling?_

 _\- Your Knight In Shining Amor_

* * *

Did he really make a pun off of armor right there? Really? In any other cause, I would be melting inside, but now that I know he is Chat the pun is less than endearing. Frustratedly, I begin to crumple up the piece of paper again, but then have a better idea. Unfolding the now wrinkled slip, I scribble my own note back.

* * *

 _My parents just died. How would you like me to feel?_

* * *

Deciding that that should work, I toss it back at his head. It bounces off and lands on the floor right behind him. He glances back at me, raising an eyebrow, and I try to gesture at the floor as subtly as possible. Thank goodness Miss Bustier isn't looking over here. Leaning back again, I watch Adrien glance at our teacher to make sure she's not looking and then slides down I'm his chair a bit to reach the paper.

He grabs it and sits back up, getting an odd look from Nino as he begins to open it. I try to ignore him, but I want to know how he's going to respond. He scribbles something else down and turns back around, tossing it back on my desk with a raised eyebrow before spinning back around.

As I unfold it, Alya kicks me in the leg, and I shoot her a glare before reading what Adrien has written. I'm not going to tell her what's going on right now, especially if this discussion turns to Ladybug stuff.

* * *

 _You keep trying to make me the villain, but I'm just trying to help you. Are you going to keep acting like this? I'm trying to be nice to you. We're partners. You seem to be forgetting the fact that I've been in love with you for ages. But this? This isn't you. Not the you I love.  
_

 _More importantly, why would I ever want to hurt you? I wouldn't want to, and I don't have to, not if you just see reason. Why do you want to hurt me? The way you're acting now isn't like the lady that I fell in love with. What have you done to that kind girl who would never let the opinions of others do this to her?_

* * *

Angrily, I crumple the note back up and intend to throw it back without even writing a response to express my frustration at him. However, right as I go to throw it back again, Alya kicks me in the shins and the note goes flying completely off course. I also let out a yelp of pain, causing all the eyes in the room to focus in on me. Thank goodness the note flew out of my hand before everyone was able to see me launch it over to the door.

In a few seconds I can see the reactions of everyone in the room, or at least the ones I feel the need to survey. Miss Bustier looks torn between looking sympathetic, probably because I just experienced a tragedy, and frustrated with my behavior, seeing as it's rather out of character. Chloe looks super confused and a bit concerned, so I suppose it's lucky for her that no one is paying her any attention right now. Alya looks confused as heck as well as super angry that I wasn't answering her when she kept trying to prompt me to by kicking me. Nino looks super lost, seeming to be very aware of the fact that he's missed something. I can even see Nathaniel out of the corner of my eye, and he looks super worried.

Then there's Adrien. He just raises an eyebrow at me, almost as if to ask me if that's really what I'm going to do. I can't tell if it's a challenge, amusement, or something else sparkling in his eye, but whatever it is, I want no part in it. This boy - this _cat_ \- is trouble. He's too curious for his own good, sticking his nose where it doesn't belong, especially now that he is an enemy. Whatever he's trying to accomplish needs to stop _now_. He's not going to change my mind.

Although if he keeps this up, I melt before I have the chance to do anything.

"Well," Miss Bustier says slowly, calling everyone's attention back to her, "I suppose we will have to use Miss Dupain-Cheng's _interruption_ ," She shoots me a pointed look, although it softens a bit before flitting back to surveying the whole class, "as our transition point. You are probably all appalled at the idea of doing this 'end of fairy tale unit' project now that I've explained everything," Wait, how much did I miss? Apparently more than I thought, "so let me do a bit to ease your mind. Firstly, you will have today and tomorrow in class to finish everything. If you're smart, you shouldn't have to do anything at home, or should at least have the at home work be a minimum. This isn't supposed to be hard. Secondly, you will be allowed to work in pairs."

The whole class seems to erupt into murmurs as the discussion that always happens when partners are announced begins. I don't participate, not that anyone even seems to be trying to talk to me.

Miss Bustier ignores it as she continues. "I will go through the class systematically, and the person I call on will pick their partner. Once everyone has picked and all the seats are rearranged for this work time, you and your partner can discuss which fairy tale we covered that you would like to present on. As I said previously, we've covered more than enough fairy tales for the amount of pairs we have, which means no group can cover the same one. That also means that you'll need to be quick in agreeing and telling me to claim it, or else someone else might pick it before you. Everyone understand?" The class shifts and shuffles around as everyone moves to make eye contact with the person they're silently asking to partner with them, but I merely focus my gaze on the floor, merely listening as Miss Bustier announces, "Good. Let's get started on partnering. Adrien? Who do you want to partner with?"

"Marinette." The answer is practically immediate, and my head shoots up when I hear it, completely and utterly confused.

Adrien turns around in his seat to look at me, eyes twinkling with mirth. He's definitely silently challenging me to beat him here. Sadly, I don't think I have the cards to do that. Thankfully, someone else does.

"No!" Chloe's response is also practically instantaneous as she leaps to her feet, looking furious. "Adrien is supposed to be _my_ partner." She stomps her foot, and I briefly consider the fact that in any other situation, my reaction to her acting in this manner wouldn't be gratitude. I suppose things really have changed. But why is it that that seems to be a bigger kicker than all of the other changes that have happened recently? Have the others just not had the chance to sink in properly? "He's not supposed to be Marinette's!"

"I didn't think she knew your name wasn't Maritrash." Alya remarks quietly from beside me, but I ignore her, especially when she adds, "She better not take this chance away from you."

Miss Bustier merely shakes her head at my blonde ally. "Sorry, Chloe, but that's the way the cards fall. Adrien picked Marinette." Apparently I spoke too soon about someone else having the cards needed to beat Adrien at this game.

Chloe basically shrieks, "I'm telling my daddy!" but still takes her seat none the less. I'll have to thank her later for trying to save me from this, even if she might not know what she was saving me from exactly. She obviously noticed I was uncomfortable, and I appreciate the effort.

"Moving on," Miss Bustier says slowly, looking a little unsure of if she actually won against Chloe there or not, "Nino, who would you like to partner with?"

"My girl Alya, of course." He says with a wide grin, turning back to look at my best friend.

"Let's go, Nino!" She says, looking quite happy as she pounds his fist. At least they're still the cute couple they have been since Animan struck. "Hey Adrien, wanna switch seats so we can be by our partners?"

Before I can try to argue against this, Adrien nods his approval. I can't even hope Miss Bustier will hold off how long it takes before Adrien can continue to torment me, because she's already moved on to asking the next person who they want to partner with. Sinking down a bit in my seat, I ignore Alya's wink and thumbs up that she flashes me before moving to Adrien's seat.

Adrien doesn't seem at all thrown off by my attempts to ignore him, instead taking Alya's seat and pushing it far closer to mine then necessary. "So, which fairy tale would you like to cover?" He shakes his head when I try to shift away from him, merely leaning even more into my personal space. "Feeling a little nervous, Mari?"

"Sh-shut up." I mumble back, internally screaming over the fact that he's making me stutter. Why can't I stop it?

"Do you even know what we're doing for this project? Or were you not paying attention?" He sounds so amused and so much like Chat right now that I can barely stand it.

"N-no," I hiss back much less confidently than I intended, hands balling into fists, "because _someone_ k-kept distracting me!" I have a feeling that would have been more effective in expressing my anger if it weren't for the stutter. Gosh, why did Mr. and Mrs. Agreste have to create such a gorgeous child?

Adrien chuckles, shaking his head. "Well, we need to pick a fairy tale, Princess." I duck my head and cover my face with my hands, hoping to hide myself from everyone and everything going on right now. Lowering his voice to an even lower whisper, so that even I can barely hear it, he asks, "Still think you're going to be able to keep this game up, LB? Or would you rather just surrender now and let me help you another way?"

 _No._ I say as fiercely as possible in my head, forcing myself to listen to it. _I will not let him defeat me. Not like this. I have a goal that I need to accomplish. My parents died, and the people who have caused it are going to pay that price._ Hidden behind my hands, I allow myself to smirk a little, seeing as I can do so safely without being caught. I just had a genius idea. _Two can play this game, Kitty, and I'm hear to win. However, I can't do it as Marinette. Marinette doesn't affect Adrien like Adrien affects me. But Ladybug? Oh, Chat won't even know what hit him._ And then another idea hits me, one that will make hitting Adrien right back with more psychological movements even more fun. _And I'll need Nathaniel's help._

Forcing myself to keep myself under control, I drop the smirk and pull my head back up, face flushing almost instinctively as I meet Adrien's gaze. "U-um, which fairy tale do you want to do?" We'll just have to hope he doesn't realize that he's given me a few, brilliant ideas to play later.

* * *

 **And there we have it! What were your thoughts on the chapter? Was it good? Bad? I think the ending is actually smoother than it was last time around, so even if I'm still frustrated I lost it all, I'm glad I'm happier with it this time. Anyways, how do you feel about Marinette staying with Chloe? How do you think Tikki is handling things? When do you think she and Mari will talk, seeing as Marinette is ignoring her? How about Adrien's interaction with her at her locker? Is that what you were expecting? What do you think is going on in our sunshine child's head? How about Nathaniel's interruption? Were you expecting the note passing? How about Adrien partnering with Mari? What do you think Marinette has planned for Chat when she's Ladybug? Which side are you personally supporting in all this? Are there any predictions you'd like to make? How about any scenarios that you would hope to see play out in this story? Let me know in a review! As I have mentioned before, I intend for this story to be shorter than my other ones, but if there's some sort of situation that you would want to see played out in this universe (say you want to see some Ladrien interaction or the two teams in gym class or something along those lines), then please let me know and I'll see about including it before we hit the end of this story. However, if you do this, please don't try to tell me how to make the characters react! That's for me to decide. c:  
**

 **And now in typical Dagger fashion, let me jump from that to my typical section of responding to your reviews!**

 **RapidSammi : Oh no worries, the feels are intended to get much worse from here. :p**

 **Lokilust : That would have been a good idea too! However, as you can probably tell, Mari is not quite content to just play the antihero here, so we'll be seeing her gang making a fair amount of chaos pretty soon.**

 **calvinhobbeslike : Oh, totally! I honestly find it ridiculous that in history the idea of appeasing Hitler was even tried. It was just encouraging him. If people had just moved to action and gone to stop him sooner, we might not have had World War II and millions of lives would have been saved.**

 **Unfound name : Indeed it is! cx Yep, you're pretty spot on on all of those. Hopefully you liked this chapter! I'm super excited to write this, especially considering the ending I have planned for you all. :p**

 **Mikael0000 : Haha, yes, I guess I am writing that! xD Hopefully it stays interesting.**

 **TheTablewalker : Ahhh Tablewalker! Yes! Ahoy! :o I'm honored to have you leave me a review! And ahhh, thank you so much! I'm glad you like it so much so far. I'm glad you're loving the realism! They definitely will be reacting to it more as time goes on, but there's still a lot of shock surrounding it, so it hasn't really sunk in yet. But don't worry! It'll be addressed soon, once our characters have time to really think about it. And yep, that would be Nathaniel! I'm glad you haven't been able to put it down as well! And yes, I definitely do enjoy that. cx But I will apologize for making you feel sad, because I'm nice like that. ;p Thank you! Hopefully the good work has been kept up.**

 **LadybugLover21 : Thank you! I'm super happy that I haven't seen this concept played at yet. I love it so much. As for winners or deaths or anything like that, well, we'll just have to see. All I can say is that I definitely have some fun things planned. :p**

 **And there we have it! I'll see you guys next time I update. Stay awesome, and thanks so much for the support! This fandom is just so amazing when responding to stories and supporting them - I love it so much. So keep that up, guys!**

 **~ Dagger**


	4. Look 'Em in the Eye

**Chapter Four - Look 'Em In The Eye**

 **Woo, so I know I just updated this story, but I'm feeling pumped update wise and so - even though I know I owe Balancing Act an update - am going to take the chance to write a few more of the shorter updates. Then I'll use my time when I'm not at a computer to pound out Balancing Act. Since that's the plan, we're back in the swing of things with this story! c: Last chapter had some fun drama in civilian life, but this chapter will be showing some super hero action. Get ready!**

* * *

 _Adrien's Point of View_

* * *

When I was awoken from my rather restless sleep by a phone call from Alya, I most certainly was not expecting her to be informing me that there was something going on at the jail, and that a distress call had been sent out on the Ladyblog.

"Is it an akuma?" I ask Alya as I nudge Plagg awake, almost relieved for an excuse to get out and about.

"I'm not sure. The alert didn't have any information tagged along with it, it was just saying that there was trouble at the jail." Alya sounds concerned, and she adds, "They've got security on my house to make sure the AMU doesn't make an example of me next, and I'm not sure I can properly sneak out."

I sigh. "You're gonna have to try. Have you let Nino know?"

I can almost hear her rolling her eyes as she says, "Yes, that ridiculous turtle who also happens to be my boyfriend is already waiting in position. He was already on patrol tonight, remember?"

Right. "Okay, I'm on my way. Meet you and Nino there." Ending the call, I extend my hand towards Plagg. "Plagg, claws out."

With a rather dramatic huff, he goes flying into the ring, and the transformation begins. It once felt like it was exhilarating, but now it feels rather empty knowing Ladybug won't be fighting alongside me. How will we handle this akuma without her? She needs to purify it. If she doesn't, we'll have another Stoneheart mess. Will we just have to capture the akumas somehow till we convince Marinette to come back to us and purify them, or till we get the earrings away from her?

The thought of trying to take the earrings away from her disturbs me. There can't be another Ladybug besides her. She is Ladybug through and through, even if she's lost that right now. How do I help her see that and come back?

As I make my way across the rooftops, it's easy to spot Jade Turtle - or should I say Nino - crouched near the jail. I land beside him with rather careless ease, not really caring if I make myself known or not, and he doesn't even flinch. How different we all are from our civilian forms. I suppose now we live in a crazy world, one crazier than I often care to admit. I haven't really had the chance to acknowledge it.

We don't speak, just waiting there in comfortable silence as we watch the jail that seems far too quiet to deserve an akuma alert. A jail akuma has never happened before. Could there really be one? As I consider it, welcoming the distraction from my reflection on how my lady has betrayed us all, Le Paon comes slamming down onto the roof beside us, much louder than she probably should be.

After a few moments of not completely uncomfortable silence, she caves first and asks, "Well, shall we go?"

I always expected us to talk more once we all found out each other's identities, but now that we realize how often we all see each other, there isn't much left to discuss. "Yes, we should."

And so we all make our ways off the roof to the ground in our own fashion. Once we're down, we make our way into the jail, which seems to be suspiciously lacking in guards compared to what the security should be. There's no one in sight. We walk in silence, and while none of us have actually said it, I think we all feel a bit apprehensive. Something about this whole thing seems _off_. What sign of an akuma is there, and why didn't the alert say more?

That's when a cry cuts through the air, sharp and shrill against the sudden silence. Jade blanches, Le Paon jumps, and I freeze to try and identify the direction.

"It came from that way." I announce after a moment when another rings out, pointing down the hallway. "Come on."

And so I rush forward with the rest of the remnants of my once proud team following after me. The pleas for help become patterned with pleas for mercy. Whatever is going on is _not_ good. Worried now, we finally arrive, only to see a man thrashing helplessly and holding his throat, almost as if he is being choked by an invisible force. It has akuma written all over it - heck, we even had Sabrina as an invisible akuma before - but something about this seems all _wrong_.

"Something's happening to him inside that cell." I glance at my partners, who shrug helplessly, obviously not having any more clues about this situation than I do. "We have to get in."

"Is there _really_ anything we could try beside trying to go through the door?" Jade Turtle asks, gesturing to the door.

"If we all stand around talking, that guy will die." Le Paon snaps. "Get in there and help!"

I reach out to try and slam it open, just to see how much force we might need and to see if I can do this without my Cataclysm, but it creaks open all on its own with just the simplest touch. Le Paon, Jade Turtle, and I go tumbling inside, and when Jade manages to trip all three of us, he slides on his shell right into the choking man, causing him to promptly disappear.

Le Paon figures it out seconds before, bitterly choking out, "Vulpin!"

There's a sharp laugh, and I jolt around to see Queen Bee leaning against the wall, shaking her head as she continues to giggle. "That was too easy."

"What the heck?" Jade Turtle asks, actually sounding rather offended as he takes initiative and stands up, leading Le Paon and I to follow in suit. "What does locking us in a cell do? How does that help you at all?"

"Wouldn't you like to know," The blonde heroine says it with a dazzling smile, stepping away from the wall as if to gloat.

"Why are you doing this, Blondie? You're not a bad person." Maybe there's some way to make her see reason. Vulpin has to be here, but if he's not showing himself and Ladybug doesn't seem to be making an appearance, perhaps we can get Queen Bee back to the right side of things.

If we get one, it's only a matter of time before the others crumble.

However, she just shakes her head. "Some people would beg to differ." She says the words quieter than expected, before adding, "Like the AMU." However, it certainly seems like there was more to it than that. "And you should to. I mean, after all, shouldn't wreaking havoc on the people of Paris count as villainous behavior?"

Le Paon frowns, folding her arms. "Wreaking havoc on the people of Paris? You guys haven't actually done _anything._ "

There's another chuckle, and then slowly Vulpin comes into view from beside Queen Bee, casually throwing an arm over her shoulder. "Well then, consider this our first official event."

"First official event, eh?" I ask, cocking an eyebrow. "You haven't quite done anything, besides lock us up, and that doesn't really seem to prove any point to me."

"There's more than one way to skin a cat." The fox says with a shrug.

Jade pipes up again, looking even more agitated. "Then tell us how this qualifies as your first official event, because all I've seen is a rather useless hero use cheap magic tricks to get us into a cell and then his fellow sidekick close the door on us. Wow, such an exciting first event." The sarcasm dripping from his words is so incredibly unlike Nino that I'm actually rather concerned.

Then another voice joins the fray to say in a mockingly sad tone, "We send you such a nice invitation to come join us here, and yet now you can't even appreciate the efforts we've gone through for you. I suppose now we'll just have to hope your front row seats to our show will be more appealing."

Le Paon, seeming completely flabbergasted, asks, "Wait, you sent out the akuma alert?"

"M'lady?" I ask, more focused on the actual speaker than by anything she said as I try to figure out where she is, although the nickname comes out unbidden.

"What show?" Jade asks the most sensible question out of all of us.

"Yes, we sent out the akuma alert. It was too _purr_ -fect of an opportunity to pass up. And to answer your question, Chaton, yes, it is me. However, I have a feeling your teammates won't appreciate you calling the enemy 'your lady.'" Slowly Ladybug steps into the light, eyes cold. She fiddles with her yo-yo idly, looking quite pleased with herself. "Oh, but where are my manners? Nino is right, I suppose we never did tell you what show you were getting to see tonight." She gives us a wide smile, and I shudder at the sight. What happened to sweet Marinette? "How about we start it off by introducing our special guest of the night? Everyone, meet Zacharias, supporter of the AMU and only arsonist found responsible for the burning of the Dupain-Cheng Bakery so far. Bee, if you would be so kind as to bring him out."

I cringe as Queen Bee gestures with her hand and slowly a blonde man, obviously quite disheveled already and seeming to be in one of Queenie's trances, walks out of the shadows that Ladybug was previously in. "Ladybug, don't do this."

But again sweet Marinette just gives me a smile as she asks far too innocently, "Don't do what, Chaton?" When I don't answer, she pouts for a moment before striding up to Zacharias and casually wrapping her yo-yo around his neck. "Zacharias' trial is scheduled for next Tuesday. It'd be quite the shame if he didn't show up."

My lady carefully tugs the string a bit tighter, beginning to choke the man, and I throw myself against the cell bars, practically howling at her. "No! Don't do this to yourself. You're destroying yourself. Stop!"

"He's a murderer. Do you want to justify the fact that he killed innocent people?" I know what she really means by that. _Do you want to justify the fact that he killed my parents? Are you continuing to side against me?_

I hate that I have to, but this isn't the Ladybug I know. "He may be a murderer, but you're not."

For a few moments, I wonder if I have failed. Panic floods my senses as Ladybug just seems to pull tighter and tighter while Zacharias seems to grow closer and closer to death, not even seeming phased within whatever trance Blondie has him in, and I'm about to call upon my Cataclysm when Ladybug lets him fall to the floor with a dull thud.

"He's unconscious." She says, the change from amusement to flat coldness chilling. She kicks his side, not smiling at the sight but certainly not frowning. Then in a moment she's standing in front of the cell bars, hand grabbing at the neck of my suit and pulling me up against the bars so that we're barely centimeters apart. "Happy, Chaton?"

"Wh-What are you doing?" I ask, eyes wide and cheeks beginning to burn as she smiles again.

"Let him go, LB." Le Paon says, voice openly hostile against the girl who used to be the hero she strived to be like.

"Or what? You'll fan me to death?" Ladybug laughs, but her eyes never leave mine, and I can see the challenge burning bright in them. "Still sure you're ready to compete against me, Kitty? With how red your face is right now, I'd think that you were quite supportive of me."

That, of course, makes me even more flustered, but I can't seem to get away from her. "I may love you, Ladybug, but I don't love this."

She shakes her head, releasing me, and I almost let myself fall to the floor in shock. "Hm, I suppose that's alright. You've chosen the wrong side anyways." And then, before I can fully registering what's going on, she grabs Vulpin and pulls him into a kiss on the lips. I can only gape, trying for the life of me to figure out what I'm seeing. I swear I see red, wishing I could leap out and strangle the fox so that he dies where he stands, but then it's over and Ladybug steps away, gesturing for her team to follow. "We'd love to say and chat for a bit, but the cops Queen Bee has been holding off are on the way, so I suppose we'll just have to meet another time. But don't worry! I'm sure they'll let you out."

Completely floored, I stand there in shock as the three Miraculous wielders each give us their own personal, cheeky wave goodbye before darting off into the shadows. As quickly as they each appeared, they're gone to who knows where.

"We've been outfoxed already." Jade murmurs, and I can't help but feel I've been outfoxed in more ways than one.

I suppose I'll just have to step up my game.

* * *

 **And there we have it! What are your thoughts? Good? Bad?** ** **Sorry this chapter was a bit shorter.** How did you feel about the jail? Were you expecting Ladybug's team to have lined it up as a trap? Did you think Ladybug would actually go through with killing Zacharias, or were you expecting her to suddenly back out? How do you feel about her and Chat's "game?" Let me know your thoughts in a review!  
**

 **Since we're discussing reviews, let me respond to yours!**

 **Lokilust : Who says there will even be any akumas? :3 Hawkmoth might not even need to do anything to send any akumas to defeat the Miraculous team. They're ripping each other apart and he'll merely have to walk through the carnage to claim his prizes.**

 **jeh : Thank you! Hopefully you liked this update. c: Sorry it wasn't sooner/longer!**

 **Mikael0000 : I used to be even more of a fan, now that the hype has died down a bit I still enjoy it but not as much. C: However, I felt the songs had lines that work very well for the story. And I'm glad you are loving the story! Hopefully you continue to.**

 **Guest : I wouldn't necessarily say it comes as an afterthought. I'd say that he's a bit overwhelmed with other issues. His lady is breaking down before his eyes, someone who always seems so calm and put together before him, and he's incredibly distracted trying to put her back together. What is happening hasn't really sunk in for him just yet, and so it takes him a bit to truly realize what it could mean. Yes, I do agree that he should have thought of Mari sooner, but I think the realization that Mari could be dead didn't really hit Chat just yet. It took him a bit to realize what it could mean for the bluenette. Besides, since his primary concern was Ladybug, _technically_ Marinette's welfare was the first thing that came to Chat's mind. cx I suppose you could even argue that a part of Chat knows Marinette is alright because of their (at that time unknown) connection through the Miraculous.**

 ** **I'm thinking maybe one or two more chapters before we get into the ending ones, probably just to demonstrate a bit more of how the tensions are running before the end hits. If this were a normal story, I'd probably drag this out for a while, but this one was always meant to be shorter and so unless there are any particular circumstances you want to see the characters thrown into, I will be making my way to the end (and perhaps even throwing another story that will be shorter up).****

 ** **Until next time!****

 ** **~ Dagger****


	5. Crap, An Author's Note

**Woah, long time no see everyone! Sorry for my disappearance. Life has been absolutely awful recently, which has kept me from doing anything with fanfiction. I also have been distracted writing my novel. But I'm back to take care of my stories on here now that I'm on break and finally have the emotional energy too. Hopefully I can keep it up! :o**

 **Now, I do have some bad news. This is going to be the end of You Have No Control. I know, it's very abrupt, but this is because it's very hard to write this story and balance all the heroes when I really would prefer to focus on the main two. So, I will be writing another version of this story, but it will not have a team and instead will just have our dynamic duo. There will be some changes to the beginning chapters, obviously, and it will be much longer with a much different ending than initially planned, as well as going in a totally different direction. Please check it out, since I feel like the parts we all (me writing and you reading, that is) prefer the parts with Chat Noir with Ladybug, and Adrien and Marinette. Plus that will let me delve into the love square a lot more than I have been.**

 **I want to leave it up to you guys as to whether or not I wrap this story up or leave it alone to focus just on this newer version alongside my other stories. So pease review letting me know what you're wanting/hoping for!**

 **Until next time, wherever that is.**

 **~ Dagger**


End file.
